The present invention relates to the decontamination arts. It finds particular application in conjunction with the sterilizing or disinfecting of medical wastes and will be described with particular reference thereto. However, it is to be appreciated that the present invention will also find application in connection with the disposal of any products having potentially harmful microorganisms.
Microbial decontamination connotes the removal of hazardous or unwanted bacteria, mold spores, and other pathogenic life forms. Disinfection connotes the absence of pathogenic life forms. Sterilization connotes the absence of all life forms, whether pathogenic or not.
Heretofore, medical waste such as used syringes, petri dishes and culture media, vials, and other equipment which has come in contact with substances which might potentially carry pathogenic organisms have been subject to elaborate and expensive waste disposal procedures. Traditionally, these wastes were incinerated at sufficiently high temperatures that the pathogenic organisms were killed. However, incinerators tend to be a source of air pollution and are being closed.
Other medical wastes are sterilized in a steam autoclave. Autoclave sterilization is a relatively time consuming and expensive procedure, particularly for waste materials.
Another technique for disposing of medical wastes is to grind the wastes with water into a slurry. Bound iodine solutions are commonly added to presumably kill pathogenic organisms. However, one of the problems with this system is providing assurance that the pathogenic organisms are killed.
In accordance with the present invention, a new and improved system for decontaminating medical waste is provided.